Episode 12: When Do I Sell the Company?

February 22, 2022

Hello, Hello, Hello everybody!

Welcome to today’s blog post and podcast episode.

Today we are talkin’ about somethin’ that I get asked ALL the time.

People are always asking me questions about this one thing.

Today, we are talkin’ about…

Selling a company.

Yup, that’s right.

I've gotta be honest and say that it’s not really something that I've ever thought about.

I guess the most important thing always has to be the reason why you’re gonna sell your company in the first place.

Why Would You Sell?

OK… I love my audience.

So I’m gonna be honest with you guys.

I’ve never genuinely even considered the prospect of selling the company. It just never came across my mind.

But one thing I have realized is that if someone came into me with one bad-ass offer.

… Like crazy stupid money …

… Like FU levels of money …

… Like “I-don’t-ever-have-to-speak-to-anyone-I-don’t-want-to-ever-again” levels of money

I would probably take it.

But listen, I love what I do. I love coming into work every day, and I love the kind of people that I spend time with.

But if somebody were gonna offer me money for me to get out of here, then it has to be enough for me to

1. Have enough money to do what I want for the rest of my life.

And

2. Be able to fund my next venture (whatever it is).

Well, I know what it is… but I can’t tell y’all just yet ;)

But there’s always more to it than just that…

Who to Sell It To?

So a lot of people will just look straight past this one.

But for me, this is super important. Like there’s no way I'd sell my business without giving some thought to who I wanted to sell it to.

No chance.

Like for me, I know that I need somebody who understands where barbecue is going in the next couple of years. Somebody who gets where outdoors is heading.

I mean, I said years ago that barbecue is gonna grow to an 8-9 figure industry in the next couple of years. So I need to find somebody who understands that vision.

So think of it this way. If I could create the perfect buyer in a lab: it would be that they understand that vision, they have experience in it before, and is aligned with my one vision of conquering the barbecue industry.

Simple.

For me, they’re just the things that I don't think I could compromise on.

What to Do After You Sell?

OK, so imagine this.

You finally get to sell your company.

Huge deal. Huge multimillion dollar whatever. You name it.

You get out of bed. Go to the bathroom. Make your morning coffee.

What the f***ing h*ll do you do now?

No, seriously, have a think and tell me what you’d do.

I’d have absolutely no idea. That’s part of the problem for me.

I seriously couldn’t just walk around all day aimlessly. It depresses me even thinking about that!

I think even if I did decide to sell the company, I’d have to continue to keep working at it. There’s no way I could just sit around all day.

Like I’m 50 now. There is absolutely no way I could sit around doing nothing. I just couldn't. Simple as.

Like I’ve thought about things I could do other than my business. Like real estate, for example. But… y’know I kinda just feel like real estate has no real challenge to it.

I’m not sure why. It’s like I wouldn’t enter it at a high level, and it just feels like I wouldn’t know enough.

What I do know is that I just wouldn’t enjoy it as much as I like what I’m doing now.

It’s like Wes says to me, though, it’s all about re-inventing yourself. Being able to come back after you’ve finished something, adjust and go after a different goal.